As a result of the continuous developments in the area of mobile radio technology, such as for example the expansion of the GSM network (GSM=Global System for Mobile Communication) through the UMTS network (UMTS=Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), antennas designed to cover several frequency bands are needed. At the same time, because of the sophisticated requirements of many customers, mobile radio equipment must firstly be designed so as to be smaller and more compact in terms of its dimensions and secondly be manufactured more inexpensively.
For this reason, the antennas for mobile radio equipment also have to be optimized in terms of frequency coverage, manufacturing costs and the structural space needed for the antenna.
In order to be able to cover multiple frequency bands with the multiband antenna, a number of solutions are already known. In one variant of the solution, multiple planar patch antennas are integrated in a mobile radio device. A disadvantage of integrating multiple antennas into one multiband antenna is that multiple feed points are required for the planar patch antennas, and consequently the construction of the multiband antenna is complicated.
In the applicant's European patent EP 1 024 552 A2, a multiband antenna is presented which was already an improvement in terms of the production costs and spatial requirements. This improvement was achieved by virtue of the fact that the multiband antenna consists of a combination of multiple different types  of antenna which are all fed at just one point. By this means, both the manufacturing costs and the spatial requirements of the antenna can be reduced.
For the latest generation of mobile radio equipment, however, this multiband antenna is still not satisfactory in terms of its spatial requirements and manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, a multiband antenna array for mobile radio equipment is needed that also enables a further reduction in manufacturing costs while simultaneously reducing the antenna space needed.